This invention relates to a communication system comprising a control station and a plurality of remote stations connected to the control station by a harness.
In mines and other working environments the need exists for information from a variety of different types of sensors and monitoring devices to be transmitted to a central control station where the data can be processed and acted upon. For example, in a mine, large numbers of gas and/or fire sensors may be connected to a control station, which analyses the data transmitted from each sensor and raises an alarm if necessary. Other sensors and monitoring devices may be provided to monitor water level, temperature, to identify vehicles and personnel and to transmit operating information directly from sophisticated machinery such as coal cutters. Two way communication between the control station and remote sensors, monitoring devices and machinery may be required.
In a large mine, there may be more than ten thousand personnel underground at one time. It is a mammoth task to co-ordinate the various technical operations taking place in such a mine from the central control station. Typically, voice communication channels are used by the underground personnel to request authorisation for the moving or replacement of sensors and other equipment. This requires operators at the control station to make a decision and to inform the underground personnel accordingly, and then to update a record at the control station.
Usually, a map is available at the control station on which the location of each sensor or monitoring device and its function are indicated. However, it will be appreciated that in an extensive mine or similar working environment, the creation and ongoing updating of such a map is a very time consuming process.